On Friday, Providence Public Schools Superintendent Javier Montañez announced plans to resign and leave the Providence Public School District. His contract was originally set to end on June 30, 2027.
Montañez is at least the fourth senior PPSD administrator to leave the district since the PPSD returned to local control this summer. His departure follows the exit of three Providence Deputy Superintendent of Operations Zack Scott, Chief of Staff Lisa DiMartino and Deputy Superintendent of Academics Paula Dillon.
“After laying the foundation, it’s now time for me to move on and allow the next generation of leaders to take Providence Public Schools to the next level,” Montañez wrote in a statement to The Herald. “It is my hope that no matter the circumstances and challenges, district leaders continue to put students first in all their decisions. Providence is becoming a destination for education, and I will always be available to support the school district that gave so much to me."
Details regarding Montañez’s resignation and final day as superintendent are still being discussed, according to PPSD spokesperson Alex Torres-Perez. The Providence School Board is expected to publish a job posting for the interim superintendent position this week.
Prior to assuming the role of interim superintendent in 2021 and taking on the permanent title in 2022, Montañez worked as a bilingual elementary school teacher, assistant principal and principal in the PPSD. Montañez himself was a PPSD student who dropped out of Hope High School before going back to school to receive his GED diploma.
The superintendent’s “commitment to our students, our schools and our community has not gone unnoticed,” President of the Providence School Board Ty’Relle Stephens wrote in a statement sent to The Herald. “His historic leadership as the first Hispanic male to serve as superintendent of our district represents an important milestone in our city’s history.”
“For his service, his leadership and his contributions to generations of Providence students, we owe him our sincere gratitude,” Stephens added.
For Lindsay Paiva, president of the Providence Teachers Union, Montañez’s resignation is “unsurprising.” She said that she believed his decision was connected to the tensions surrounding the end of state takeover and the challenges that have continued through the change in school governance.
“From our perspective, a lot of the difficulty lies in the fact that RIDE is still trying to have some level of control over what happens day to day in PPSD,” Paiva said.
The Rhode Island Department of Education did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to Torres-Perez, the superintendent’s decision to step down was “not related to RIDE oversight, a lack of support or any disagreement about the district’s direction.” She added that, “throughout his tenure, including during state intervention and following the return to local control, Dr. Montañez continued to lead the district’s work, establish priorities and work alongside school and district leaders to advance initiatives focused on student achievement, operations and the future of PPSD.”
According to Paiva, the school board has created a “community council of partners” — which includes educators, board members and families in the PPSD — to support the search for the next superintendent. This is part of the school board’s shift in approach to one that integrates community feedback, Paiva said.
“I’m very grateful to have been invited into that space and to be able to support this search effort,” Paiva said. She added that she thinks it’s important that decision-making power is granted to educators, families and students.
Despite tensions at the over six-hour school board meeting on Oct. 21, where the potential removal of the board president was discussed, the board is now focused on creating as much stability as possible in leadership, Stephens wrote.
“I remain confident in our board’s ability to find common ground, move forward together and get back to work on behalf of the students of Providence while ensuring a smooth transition,” he added.
According to Stephens, the posting for interim superintendent will be opened first for “internal candidates who hold the appropriate superintendent licensure and meet the required qualifications.” Following the interview process, the board may elect to include external candidates in the selection process.
“Everyone on the school board has come together around this important moment,” Paiva said. “I do feel like they are prioritizing this right now because they know that the community requires this support, and this is a really critical moment.”
Amber Marcus-Blank is a metro editor covering youth & education. She is a senior from outside of Boston studying Political Science and Public Health on the pre-law track. She is interested in working in politics and journalism in the future and enjoys playing soccer and making playlists in her free time.
